COMM Professor Awarded Prestigious PR Fellowship

Carolyn White Bartoo, a professor in UD’s COMM department and director of the department’s internship program, has nabbed her own prestigious “internship” for this summer.

Bartoo, a UD alumna herself, was awarded a summer fellowship from the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations.  The Center, whose mission is to bridge the gap between public relations education and practice, offered their fellowship to three educators last summer.  The fellowship gives Bartoo the opportunity to spend two weeks with Ketchum, a Chicago-based agency and 2009 winner of The Holmes Report’s Large Agency of the Year.  During her time there, Bartoo will be participating in the company’s day-to-day operations, as well as providing a workshop for the employees of Ketchum.

Though relatively new to the department, Bartoo is well-known for her work with UD’s Public Relations Student Society of America chapter – with her help, the chapter has increased their membership 400% in the past year.  Bartoo will be taking this skill set to Chicago, and returning in time to share her expanded knowledge with students in her highly popular public relations-focused courses.

UDaily article

Professor Carolyn White Bartoo will be spending two weeks at a PR agency in Chicago as a fellow of the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations.

For more information about the Plank Center, please visit their website.

PRSSA-UD Wins Award for Best RSO Website

PRSSA-UD has proved that it is an RSO to be reckoned with over the past year, increasing its membership and winning an award for its outstanding website.

The Public Relations Student Society at UD won the award for Outstanding Website at the 9th Annual YouDee Leadership Awards on May 12.  The Awards recognize the achievements of the top Registered Student Organizations at UD, and feature awards such as Outstanding Leader and Outstanding Community Service, among others.

The leaders and members PRSSA-UD have spent this past year growing the chapter, through efforts including social media, programming and workshops.  In just a year, meeting attendance has increased 400 percent, due in large part to the chapter’s revamped online presence.  PRSSA-UD was also a finalist for the Outstanding Use of Social Media Award.

Congratulations to Paige Geiger, a COMM major and PRSSA-UD member who played a large part in developing the website, as well as all of the leaders and members of the chapter.  To learn more about PRSSA-UD, visit their award-winning website, here!

Journalism Minors Put Their COMM Knowledge to Use

Junior COMM major/journalism minor Jen Rini learns for fish for her column in The Review.

Junior COMM major and journalism minor Jen Rini spends her days like many COMM students do – eat, sleep, study, repeat.  But weekends are the time when Jen gets to put all of that classwork to much more practical – and fun – use.

A columnist for The Review, UD’s student newspaper, Jen documents her weekend adventures for the column “Day Trippin’”.  She has spend the day touring the streets of Philadelphia in the infamous Green Man suit from the sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, hanging out with llamas at the Brandywine Zoo, and learning to fish in White Clay Creek state park with a New Castle County local.

“It’s a really fun column,” Jen said.  “I get to take everything I learned in class and see it at work, and hey, if I get to run around Philly while I’m doing it, why not?”

Many COMM majors are also journalism minors, and agree that learning to write in a journalistic style will be very helpful when they enter careers in the communications field.  Journalism students get a lot of that real-world experience while writing for The Review, which has been named one of the ten best non-daily college newspapers by the Associated Collegiate Press.

Check out one of Jen’s columns, where she hangs out with a local fisherman, here.

UD Students ‘Move and Shake’ at Philly Ad Club Luncheon

UD's academic membership gives students exclusive opportunities to get involved in Philly Ad Club.

As part of its academic membership, UD was able to send three students to the Philly Ad Club Movers and Shakers Luncheon on April 27.  The luncheon, which honored three outstanding professionals in the Philadelphia communications industry, was a great opportunity for the students to network and learn about the industry.

The honorees were Rebecca Campbell, President of ABC Owned TV Stations; David Cohen, Executive Vice President of the Comcast Corporation; and Robert Bogle, President and CEO of The Philadelphia Tribune.  All three expressed their love for the city of Philadelphia and thanked Philly Ad Club for providing them with countless opportunities.

The three UD students in attendance were pleasantly surprised by how helpful the club members were.  The students exchanged information with many attendees – several of whom were UD alumni – and are looking forward to building their professional networks.

Current University of Delaware students can join the Ad Club as student members for a discounted price, while anyone in the communications industry can become a traditional member.  The club offers workshops, networking events and, for students, the opportunity to be mentored by a senior club member.

For more information, visit the Philly Ad Club at www.PhillyAdClub.com.  Be sure to visit the job board for internships and job openings!